Invader Zim: SUMMER
by GiRBeRRy
Summary: Newly revised! Only a few days left before high school graduation. A new girl comes to the city, Zim gets a new mission from the Tallest, and Dib finds himself in another person....thanks for reading and reviews are always welcome! NEW! CHAPTERS 6-9!
1. A New Girl

**The New Girl**

The clouds, which were particularly gray this morning, showed of a faint distaste for the sun. Only small rays were permitted to shine through the windows of the classroom, which was fitting to the mood, as Miss Bitters was more than her usual cranky self.

"Open your textbooks to page 357 and study the pattern on the monkey picture. You will be quizzed on this," growled the teacher. Miss Bitters, a surly old woman whose age was too high to count, was never content with her class. She had taught these students since fifth grade, an act only made strange by the fact that these students were now juniors in high school. Miss Bitters never trusted any of the other teachers with her students; whenever the new school year would come, the students would all rush in and stop when they saw their old teacher, sitting unavoidable at her desk, glaring at them. Some said she bribed the principal to let her keep this class to herself; others said she threatened him. But it was all the same.

"But what does this have to do with the space-time continuum?" inquired Dib.

Now, Dib had some very strange qualities. For one, he was completely obsessed with the paranormal. Bigfoot, aliens, and ghosts fascinated him. He was not 'nerdy' in any way, except for his glasses, which, although quite large, gave a small touch of mysterious intelligence to his unblemished face. He was not at all unattractive: he was not inclined to eat in large amounts, his clothes were not out-of-date, and his facial features had been arranged in a most pleasing way. The only thing that lowered him in the eyes of his peers was that he was constantly trying to prove to them that the things in which he believed were real.

And, in fact, they were real. Due to the bizarre teachings of teachers like Miss Bitters, overpopulation, and pop culture, Dib had reason to believe that he was the only smart person on Earth, leaving his naïve father, Professor Membrane, who was a brilliant science master. The students of Dib's class were so ignorant, as well as most of the world, that they could not see what was there, right in front of them.

"Are you questioning my teaching skills?" rasped the teacher. Miss Bitters was strange in another way as well, as she had the ability of changing her appearance into a shadowy figure with cold, dark eyes, and an even colder glare.

"No, Miss Bitters! I would never do that!" cried a startled Dib. Zim, always amused by Dib's follies, snickered.

Zim was strange in his own right. The most unusual thing about him, at first glance, was that his skin was a pale green color. Zim was an alien; anyone could see that, but because people were so ignorant, no one did. He had been sent to Earth on an important mission: wipe out all life on the planet, and claim it for Irk. Irk was Zim's home planet, and his leaders, The Tallest, were in the middle of an inevitable conquest of the universe. They had actually tried once before to do this, but Zim got in the way of their plans. He was much shorter then, about the size of a small child, but to blend in with his ever-changing surroundings, he concocted a substance which made him grow at the rate of the children around him, so he was now a normal sized teenager.

The government system of Irk was quite different from our own. For one thing, the leaders were called the Tallest, because they were the Tallest. An Irken's ranking was based upon his height, or lack thereof. Zim, before the substance, was one of the smallest of his race, so he was always looked down upon, both literally and figuratively.

Because of the fact that Zim was so destructive, they sent him to Earth.

They probably thought of him as too horrible a soldier, so they assumed that he would be there for a while. Little did they know that, for some reason, when he consumed that Substance, it changed his mind as well. He was still the same naïve Zim; but deeper down, he was smarter, wiser and his mind was made clearer. He now had the potential to cause more destruction than the Tallest would ever know.

Dib and Zim were natural enemies. No matter how hard he tried, Dib could not convince anyone that Zim was an alien. Zim loved this fact, for the sake of his mission, and for the entertainment it gave him to watch Dib fail. This only made Dib try harder. No matter what Zim did to further his conquest, Dib always tried to thwart him, and most of the time succeeded, with a little help from fate. Each thought the other was too stupid to actually do anything important. The only other person who believed that Zim was an alien was Gaz, Dib's sister, and she knew for a fact that Zim had neither the capacity nor the knowledge to conquer the Earth.

Gaz was two years Dib's junior at the age of 15. She was a disturbing child: always threatening people with a vengeance, always keeping to herself, always verbally bullying her brother. Her hair was a rebellious maroon color, and she was quite thin, which only added more to her menacing character. However, she was not pierced, or chained, or spiked in any way; and she was lovely under her violent appearance. But little did she know – little did any of them know – that their lives would each be changed forever by one small knock at the door.

She came in as a vision of confidence and grace. Her lips were set in a firm line; her cheeks flushed from coming in from the chilled environment outside. By the way she carried herself one could realize that she had a high level of self esteem and made sure the world knew it. Her jade eyes glowed with curiosity as she surveyed the classroom before her, noticing each being in the room and adding their faces to her mental database. She enjoyed observing people and watching their movements and facial expressions. Based on their original reactions to her presence, she was able to make detailed first impressions of their personalities.

There she stood for a good two minutes, staring with interest at the class, seemingly waiting for them to do something. Soon the usual whispering began between the students. Some made jokes that she was stupid and didn't know what to do next. The girl was pleasantly surprised. They lasted longer than usual, which suggested their elevated level of maturity.

Soon the impatient teacher cleared her voice and tapped her foot on the tile floor. The girl didn't seem to mind. She was done with her observing for now anyway.

"Is this my class? They said it was. If it's not I will leave you to your teaching, Miss…" She paused, glancing down at a thin sheet of paper in her hand. "…Miss. Bitters?"

"Lina Battement, I presume? You're my new student. You can sit next to Zim." The teacher answered, gesturing to the strange green being in the front row. The girl looked over at him, eyeing him for a second time. The first thing she noticed was his odd flesh color. Being a person un-inclined to be judgmental, she let it go as probably some skin care product gone wrong.

Dib was in a state. In the 30 seconds she had been standing in the room, he had not taken his eyes off of her. He couldn't understand why he was so focused on this new girl. He had never cared for the female sex in his life, so why now? What was it about this girl that made him squirm, that made him think about what he looked like from the outside? Who was she to be able to make him so aware of himself?

In his daze he failed to realize that she was looking at him. He woke himself up and looked down. She went to her new seat beside Zim and attempted to make conversation.

"So, Zim, what are we studying?"

"Go to page 357 and study the horrible monkey," said a vaguely interested Zim.

"Well, I can see I'm going to have to step up my home schooling…how in the world can she get away with teaching people to study pictures?" Zim took this as a chance to examine her more carefully. She was no different than the other new students he had encountered, yet she was. There was just something about her – something out of place – something almost likable…

"Yes. Look, just because you sit next to me doesn't mean we're going to be friends," he said, suddenly regaining control of sound and rational thought.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. I don't seem to be able to make friends easily. People don't tend to take a liking to me. I guess if I had never met myself before I wouldn't like me either." She was peculiar to the alien. Her train of thought left him confused as to why he should care about what she had to say. Maybe this was the reason why she didn't make friends easily.

Dib was still trying to gaze at her more. She caught his gaze a second time and held it for a moment. He flushed and tried to look away, but her look stopped him. She stared at him for a moment, her eyes seeming to smile at him though she was not. Zim, thinking this ever amusing, smirked. Dib scowled at him and went back to the girl.

The day went on as it usually did in Miss. Bitters' class: the students would cower whenever their teacher spoke, Dib would make a remark that displeased her and Zim would laugh, the clock ticked slowly. And Lina Battement made herself at home in this new class. The students got used to her as well, and came up with the conclusion that she was acceptable. They, of course, shunned her odd fascination with Dib, but they grew to tolerate her.

Dib had absorbed all he could in the half-day he was with her. Most would find it disturbing to have someone pay that much attention to you, but the girl quite enjoyed it. In fact, she seemed to encourage it. She knew she was pretty; she was confident that way. Many times she had had male attentions forced on her, and many times she politely declined those awful creatures. But this one was different. Not once had he tried to pin her in corner to talk, not once had he stared at her with a sinister, disgusting smile. She liked that he was taking his time. She liked that this one studied his subject before contact.

Her rising had been a wise one; her parents had taught her morals from some lost perfect decade in the past. Her father was a business tycoon; her mother an heiress herself. The girl had lived in France for four years. She had more money to her underage name than all of the families in her class combined. She was an heiress.

Of course, she was not hasty to divulge this fact to her peers. That would make them even less likely to want to be around her. Once the word got out that she was filthy rich, the only attention she got from anyone was just more plots to win money off of her. Most people she came into contact with only acted like greedy pigs. She had also come to learn that no matter how much money she had to her name, not a single penny of it could be used to buy companions and love. How often had she sat in her room, wishing someone would want to be with her just because she was her? This girl could actually use the excuse that it was not easy to be the little rich girl.

Dib was almost to the point of obsession. He was careful what he said around her. He was careful to make sure not to talk about his paranormal studies at all. All the girls he had ever met had shunned him for believing in Bigfoot and ghosts, calling him a crazy lunatic. But he hadn't really cared what they thought. He knew what their biggest aspirations in life were, to be famous or have as many hot boyfriends as possible.

And so the day wore on. The girl demonstrated her capability of answering questions correctly. Zim paid little to no attention to the new girl at all; she was just another inferior human to him. Dib snuck glances at her when he felt she wasn't looking. The other girls in the class murmured and passed notes of jealousy about her hair or clothes, saying that she was ugly and unpopular. The boys thought out silent plans of how they would ask her out.

"…And so, class, this is why you should never play around with nuclear matter." Miss. Bitters had been going on about atomic bombs and nuclear reactors. She well knew that since the students were seniors they should have been taught these facts years ago. But she let the matter go, for she thought that it was not her problem if they didn't learn it on their own.

Zim anxiously stared at the clock, urging the hands to move faster. He had better things to do with his time than learn about human mistakes. He already knew how to contain nuclear energy; all Irkens were taught this at an early age.

"Come on already!" muttered Dib under his breath. He wanted the day to be over too. He wanted to freely introduce himself and his scientific status to the new girl. He wanted to know her name and hear her voice directed at him.

The girl was bored. She knew she hadn't learned anything that day and so her home schooling hours would be increased. The only reason her parents wanted her to go to school was purely so that she might make some friends. She received all the schooling she would ever need right at home, and really had the qualifications to graduate, but they didn't want her to spend the summer alone before college. She had wanted to drive around her new city and see what the territory was like but now her tutor would hole her up in the study until dinner.

Finally in a ring of victory and the teacher's defeat the bell sung. Dib flew to stuff his papers and books into his briefcase. Zim quickly skulked out of the room without saying a word to anyone. The girl took time to make sure her desk and chair were in order and then she arranged her bag neatly and zippered it up. Dib approached her but stopped. He realized that in his excitement he hadn't practiced what he was going to say to her.

"Hey, you're Dib, right?" There it was. Her voice was asking him a question.

"Yeah! How did you know? Well, I guess it would be possible that you saw me on the television with my dad last year. I told him I didn't want to be on, but he pretty much forced me to." He was nervous, so he started rambling.

"Well, umm…no. Miss. Bitters called on you." She showed him a small smile and started moving towards the door.

"Oh, right…" He blushed and scratched his head in embarrassment. Noticing her move he followed her to the hall.

"So, you were on television? Why?" There was no reason not to be polite to Dib; after all, she was there to make friends with people.

"My dad is Professor Membrane. You know him?" He was excited. She seemed interested in what he had to say.

"Yes, actually. My cousin interviewed him for an article in London. She said he was an intimidating person." Comparing his father to her father could turn ugly. She let him have the higher reputation for now.

"Oh. Yeah. He can be a little overpowering sometimes." Without really thinking, he blurted out, "Do you want to go to a movie with me?" He mentally slapped himself.

"That depends. Why do you want to go out with me?" Did he already know who she was? Was that why he was being so friendly?

"No reason. Just forget about it, okay?" He felt even more stupid. She could've said yes! But he didn't think she was the type of girl who would care about a guy like him. She would eventually find out what he was interested in. What then?

"Oh." They walked in silence a few moments before Dib said anything else.

"You never told me your name."

"Do you want to know what it is?"

"Why else would I ask you?"

"So you do want to know?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

"Well what is it?" They were almost to the parking lot. The unnamed one shouldered her bag and stopped walking.

"It's Lina, okay," she said, looking him squarely in the face for the first time. Dib's heart rate increased slightly.

"Lina," said Dib, letting the name roll off his tongue. "Do you have a last name?" Lina turned to walk away from him.

"Look, I'd rather not tell you what it is, okay?"

"Oh."

"It's nothing personal, but I just don't want anyone to know who I am…" She completely turned away from him.

"I understand. You want to get a fresh start, right? You don't want anyone to judge you yet?"

"Exactly. If someone found out who I was, it would be the same as everywhere else I've lived. I'd rather live a lie than that again."

"We're not all that different, then. I would give anything to have a second chance." Lina turned to face him.

"What would you stand to gain by hiding yourself? You're just a normal person."

"Not to every one else. They see me as a crazy lunatic." He had planned not to tell her, but it seemed like the best way to connect with the girl.

"I don't see how that's possible. You seem very level-headed to me."

"I'm a paranormal investigator in training. I study things like Bigfoot and Nessie and aliens. You can laugh your head off now." He looked away from her gaze.

"I'm not going to laugh, Dib. You have every right to believe in what you want to believe. Doesn't make any difference to me." He brightened. She understood? She accepted him? His mind screamed with joy.

"Really? You don't care?"

"No. Listen, I have to go home. I have to study for my finals next week."

"Finals?" Dib inquired as she neared the rows of cars. "You're graduating a week early?"

"Yeah. I don't even need to go to school right now. But I want to," she called back to him.

"See you tomorrow?"

"I guess so," she said before vanishing into the shining sea of vehicles.


	2. The Mission

The Mission

And so Zim traveled home. He had no parents to await him; no other family to come home to. But he did have Gir.

Gir was an odd little robot. He was two feet tall and was more open to Earth customs than Zim was. He ate solely for pleasure, and delighted in making foods with unusual ingredients, such as peanuts and soap. He contented his need to express himself by shouting random things, and had often been caught renting movies and watching them for days on end.

Zim should never have gotten Gir at all. The Tallest gave Gir to him because they couldn't give him an actual SIR unit. A SIR unit was a robot not unlike Gir who served his master, the invader, in collecting valuable information to conquer the planet, (System. Information. Retrieval unit).

Gir was a mock-up of a SIR unit. When it was time for the other invaders to receive their units, the Tallest summoned a trash can and dug through it for the somewhat necessary parts to make one. One Tallest, we know him only as Purple, pulled two coins, a paperclip, and a rubber ball out of his pocket, and these items together make up Gir's brain. Which explained all of the strange habits of him. If one was there at the time it happened, one could realize quite fast that the Tallest had no intention of Gir even coming to life. But he did and Zim, oblivious to what the Tallest had actually done, was grateful for Gir. Later he could be heard saying that Gir was a mistake; while other times he referred to him as a sidekick. Either way, Zim was stuck with Gir till the end.

Zim had a lab in his basement. Actually, "lab" is putting it mildly. It was more of a giant Mesopotamia of beeping equipment, secret passages, and large screens covered with information. He felt he needed all this for his mission; the other invaders had already moved on to their second, even third planets. Zim never seemed to have a plan. The most progressive thing he had done in 6 years was create the substance.

Irken invaders had a way of communicating with their Tallest on a regular basis. The invader would take one of their large screens and have a camera that showed them talking, while the Tallest appeared the same way. Zim did this now, as was his bi-monthly custom.

"Hello, my Tallest."

"Let's just get this over with, Zim," mumbled an annoyed Red.

"Things are going as usual. Look, I don't want to question your wisdom, but I haven't made any progress in a long time, so I think I should just blow up this horrible planet and come home!"

"Oh, no! You mustn't do that! You still have to claim Earth for us," cried Purple, cutting in.

"My Tallest, I assure you that I can do much more good for you commanding a fleet of ships than I can staying here."

The Tallest were getting desperate now. They could not allow him to come back to Irk! There was too much at risk, too much they had sacrificed for the conquering of the universe. No, he could not leave Earth!

"No, no. We'll think of something for you to do there, to help us out!" They quickly ended the transmission.

Standing in their control room, the Tallest deliberated furiously.

"What do we do now? He'll ruin the whole conquest," cried Purple.

"Perhaps we should come up with a smaller mission for him to complete - one that he can't complete," pondered Red.

"What is that thing that human teenagers love to do? Ah, yes: teenage romance."

"Perfect!" They called Zim back.

"Zim, because of your…superior intellect and status, we have decided to give you a…secret mission." Red had a way of making a lie sound true.

"Oo, a secret mission!" Zim loved to be praised.

"Yes, yes! You will be tried with a test of your superiorness!" enticed Purple.

"Tell, me my Tallest! Tell me of my mission!"

"We've heard of this...thing called teenage romance. We want you to capture a female human trophy for us to…show off as a sign of our awesome power."

"My, Tallest, hardly a mission for me! I can get you a female right now! There's this ugly neighbor lady—"

"No, no Zim. There are certain things you must do before you can bring her to us. We've made you a list!" In place of his leaders' faces a list was shown on the screen.

Zim's Mission: "Operation Female"

Zim will select a female subject.

Zim will study the subject and get background knowledge of his mission.

Zim will meet subject and make acquaintances with subject.

Zim will do something with, and make friends with, subject.

Zim will ask subject to the upcoming formal dance.

The mission will be terminated unless subject accepts invitation.

Zim will do something really special with subject after dance.

Zim will officially ask subject to be his "girlfriend"

Mission will be terminated unless subject answers yes.

Zim will earn subject's trust by going on three "dates" with her.

Zim will betray subject and deliver her to the Tallest as an Irken trophy.

REWARD: Zim will receive an entire Irken army fleet to do with as he wishes.

"Oh, my Tallest, this mission is worthy of Zim and his time! Thank you, my Tallest! Thank you!" He grinned and cut the transmission. Gir laughed.

"I like pistachios! Piggy, do you like pistachios?" he said.

Along with his other odd habits, Gir enjoyed toting a rubber pig around with him. The pig's name remained Piggy throughout the years Gir had spent on Earth, and the pig also remained Gir's best friend. Gir was also inclined to carry things with him in his overly sized robotic head. Items such as a hive of bees, or a 'sammich' had often been found nestled among the pocket trinkets that made up his brain.

Zim was used to his strange and random sayings; he usually just ignored them.

Along with the rest of his equipment, Zim had a computer which, oddly enough, had a mind of its own, and which was in control of the entire house and its workings. The computer's voice was that of a man, and it constantly seemed annoyed with having to put up with Zim and his commands day in and day out.

"Computer! Run a data scan on teenage romance!" Zim was always quite commanding with his computer. Most likely because that was the only thing in his life that he could control.

"Yes, sir," it sighed with indifference. "Subject: teenage romance: the activities that human teenagers take part in to get used to the human mating ritual. Dates: activities that a male teenager and a female teenager take part in to have "fun". The term "dinner" is used not only in the eating sense, but in the romance sense also.

"Good, Computer. That should be all I'll need to complete this amateur mission."

"But there is the small matter of your subject. She'll have to be someone in your class."

"Why?" Zim was often slow to catch on to things.

"People will think it odd that you're dating a younger or older person."

"What about that ugly girl that sits behind me? She's unsuspecting enough."

"You forget that she has a crush on you."

"Ah, yes. The time she hugged me at lunch." He shuddered.

"What about that umm…that new girl," exclaimed Gir.

"Gir, you're a genius!"

"I am?!" He seemed truly touched.

"Yes, whatever. She hasn't been here long enough to know anything!" Along with his other faults, he wasn't ever able to show compassion. "Gir, get ready. The mission begins tomorrow."


	3. Tests

The Test

The next day was just as dreary as the first for Lina. The clouds still did not allow the sun to communicate with the world. Students were still in fear of their teacher. 

But this day was much less dreary in Dib's eyes, for the new girl had stolen his attentions. 

She was so gentle, so pretty, and yet confident and fierce at the same time. He wanted so much to get to know her better, but was afraid that she had been so flippant the day before that he thought she saw him as inferior. And yet, she seemed like a very understanding person. He had never even considered being in a relationship before, and no one wanted to form one with him. But he got the feeling that just maybe, this time would be different. Maybe she would finally be the one to understand him, to accept him.

But how to acquire her? How to bring her to notice him as more than a classmate? The only way that he could think of was to impress her. And since he had no athletic abilities, and no theatrical talent, the way he figured to do it would be with his mind. He remembered she was taking finals a week earlier than him, so she could be smarter, but it was worth a try.

To his delight, his chance came later that day.

"I have a gift for you all. You get to do finals a week early! So sit down and be quiet while I pass them out. Cheat on the test and your hopes of ever graduating will be slashed horribly." Miss. Bitters was always slightly more chipper on test days. She liked scaring her tutelage into working harder. Then she would finally be rid of this class and be able to retire.

"Yes! This is the chance I've been waiting for! I will be able to make known my amazing mind!" But Dib failed to realize that he had said this aloud. Everyone looked at him oddly – including Lina. He looked down at his paper and wrote his name very slowly on the top right-hand corner. 

"Begin!" shrieked the teacher.

Dib's pencil flew over the questions, filling in each answer with a neat little bubble. Zim was starting to catch on to what Dib was trying to do and, remembering his newly appointed mission, he sped up his work as well. Lina was confused and began to think it was a timed test, so she worked faster. 

"Finished!" cried Dib breathlessly. Lina echoed his cry and soon after Zim did as well.

"Well, you certainly got that done quickly. Others are still working! Be quiet," snarled Miss. Bitters. She had hoped to have quiet for a little while longer while the students struggled under the fluorescent lights.

Now Dib could only sit and wait for the moment when Miss. Bitters would hold up his paper and, as usual, call out his perfect score. Lina would naturally be in awe of him, and Zim would be out of the loop once and for all. He noticed how hard Zim was working to keep up with him. He didn't know why or how Zim could possibly be interested in girls now. But then, Lina was different than any girl either of them had ever met. It didn't matter anyway. Lina was to be his and his alone. He would finally have a friend in this world.

They didn't have to wait long for the results. Miss. Bitters pressed a small button on the side of her desk and a panel in the wall slid open and a small machine seemed to sigh as it awoke from its dark sleep. The teacher stacked the tests in the machine and pressed another button. The machine gave a soft whirring noise and swallowed the papers. Soon they reappeared with red lettering on the top. The machine finished its job and shut off automatically. After some shuffling, Miss. Bitters stepped to front again.

"It would seem that we have three perfect scores today. Dib, Lina, and Zim will not have an assignment this evening, as is traditional school final giving regulations. Everyone else has extra homework. Sit in silence until the bell rings!" It was apparent that the teacher did not enjoy letting three students off of assignments. She grumbled, skulked to her chair, and glared at the class.

Dib mind was off and running again. How could she possibly have the same score as him? The same perfect, inerrant score! It was astonishing! It wasn't that he doubted her academic abilities, but he was so set on making sure he was the only one to shine; the only one that could impress her. And now, she was just as impressive as he! She must have had accelerated schooling wherever she came from.

And there was the entire matter of Zim. He must have cheated off of her paper. He had to have. There was no probable way that he could have gotten a perfect score. In the six plus years Dib had been in class with Zim, he had never once gotten close to a perfect score. Dib was sure he didn't even do his homework or even pay attention during class. Why did it have to be now? Whatever chances Dib had to at least prove himself an equal to Lina were now dashed. It was now between himself and Zim. Again.

The bell soon rang and the students were permitted to roam free from Miss. Bitters, and were therefore able to speak.

Zim made a beeline for Lina. It was getting serious now. He didn't realize that he would be competing with Dib for her. It would be easy, just so long as he didn't let them get attached.

"Lina! Wait for me! I wanted to tell you how well you did on the test in there. Great job!" His tongue was shocked. It had been years since a compliment had flown off of it. Because of this, his tone came out somewhat high pitched, and he looked sickened.

"What happened to 'just because you sit next to me doesn't mean we're going to be friends'?" She was disappointed. At first she thought he meant it but it seemed like someone must have paid him to compliment her. "Have a heart," she said before stomping away.

Zim wanted to sneer back with "I have no heart!" but he decided against it.

As she turned away, Lina almost took out Dib in the process.

"Oh! I'm so clumsy! Are you okay Dib?" She bent and helped him gather his things which had fallen on the ground. 

"Thanks. Listen; about the test in there, I just wanted to say that I'm impressed. No one has ever gotten a perfect score except me!"

"It's really not a big deal. I have been studying for weeks on end!" 

"Still, it's a pretty big accomplishment. There are so many schools that are looking for kids like us to join. You could go to any school you want now." She began walking toward the parking lot again, and again he followed her.

"Actually I can get into any school I want anyway." Realizing what she was hinting at she quickened her pace before Dib could respond.

"Wait! Are you still coming to school tomorrow? I guess now that finals are over you don't need to," he said as she slowed down. Lina realized he wasn't going to ask her about her educational status.

"I've decided to join student council for the last couple weeks of school. My parents think I can meet new people that way. So, to answer your question, I'll be here tomorrow." She gave him a small smile of assurance.

"That's great! That you're going to be here, I mean." 

"I know what you meant. My parents are expecting me; I should go." She turned and walked into the lot. Dib watched her leave and suddenly remembered something else.

"Lina! Can I give you a city tour sometime?" he yelled across the cars.

"That'd be great! Thanks," was his answer.

Dib walked back to the sidewalk, for his bike was on the other side of the school. He noticed Zim standing there, waiting for him.

"What do you want, Zim?"

"Nothing, Dib-stink. I'm just amusing myself with your stupid human ways."

"I know you cheated on finals. I know you're out to get Lina. I don't know why but I know you want her for something. But I'm going to stop you!" 

Zim flew up to Dib's face, glaring evilly at him.

"Foolish human! You think I want your female meat child for myself! You're crazy like they say!"

"You want her for something! And I'm not going to be the one to let you have her!" Dib shoved Zim away from him and left him speechless on the sidewalk.

"You will rue the day when you let your guard down and Zim wins!" shouted the alien. He liked to have the last laugh.

"Screw you, Zim," Dib shouted back over his shoulder.

As he rode home on his motorcycle, he considered what Lina had said. Why, if she was so focused on making friends, was she being so vague about her life? It made him wonder if maybe he was too ugly for her, or even too much of a 'freak'. He began to think of ways that he could improve himself.

"Starting with my glasses," he thought, remembering how large they were.


	4. When It Rains

Walking in the Rain

Walking in the Rain

Zim muttered angrily to himself after Dib left him.

"How dare that Dib-stink, trying to destroy my mission! Zim will win in the end! He can count on it!"

Instead of taking the ordinary route home, he followed her car at a safe distance with his Voot Cruiser, which he had hidden on the other side of the school.

The drive to Lina's house was not very lengthy, nor was it through heavy traffic. She drove like she always did – eyes on the road, looking carefully for pedestrians, occasionally glancing at the neighborhoods and parks. Her ride was an intimidating Bugatti Veyron named Gregory, which had an iridescent deep cobalt and shining black paint job. It was an expensive car at 1.5 million dollars for a regular model. But Lina, being so wealthy, had been gifted with custom everything; stereo, seating, heating. Although she was humble about mostly all things, she wasn't as humble about her car. She made sure that a personal gas pump was installed near the stable, she washed it by hand, and she took it for a paint job the first sign of a scratch. It was a beautiful car.

And yet, on this particular afternoon, the car had decided to shut down its engine. She managed to pull to the curb before it completely died on her, and dialed her cell phone to the house.

"Henry, could you ask Frank to come and tow the Gregory to our garage?" Henry, her English butler, was much more of an employed uncle than a servant. He was so close to the Battements that one could not tell at first glance that he waited on them.

Frank was a very polite hired hand who did not say much, but did his work marvelously, and accepted pay gratefully. He was one of the few employees that had his own home off of the property.

The breakdown came as a shock to both Henry and Lina, so when he announced: "it will be taken care of promptly, miss," Lina could tell he was surprised.

What they did not know, was that the breakdown would not have been possible without the help of a very determined green alien.

Landing the cruiser a few blocks away from Lina, Zim began to approach her. It had begun to rain, and he had not accounted for the weather being a factor. He could usually tell when it was going to rain, and so then he would coat himself with a water proof material which kept him from being attacked by the small drops. He did this because people of the Irken race, apparently, were topically allergic to rain water, and it would cause great swelling and pain if it contacted their skin.

Seeing that rain had started to fall, Lina pulled out her expanding umbrella from the glove compartment, opened it, and began to stroll home. She heard a cry behind her, and saw Zim running towards her at a very high speed.

"Lina, wait for me! I need to use your umbrella," he yelled.

"I thought that I wasn't good enough for you," she smirked with distaste.

"You're still not, but I need to use the umbrella!" He was frantic now. Every drop stung his pale green skin, burning on contact and making a minute hissing sound.

"All right, fine. Get under." If this was any normal human, Zim would have just stolen it from them without saying a word. But that would not be the best choice in this situation. Any chance of him winning her now hung on a hair-like thread.

"Thank you." He gagged again. He had to get used to giving compliments freely.

"You're welcome." Zim sincerely hoped that she wouldn't ask why he needed the umbrella so badly, but his hopes were soon mutilated in the curb. "You seemed very frantic to use a simple umbrella."

Trying to think of something to say on the spot without drawing unwanted attention to himself he blurted out, "I'm afraid of rain."

"I quite highly doubt that, but unless you have something more you want to say, I'll just let it go."

They walked in silence for a while. Zim kept a sharp eye on Lina's face, searching for something that would tell him just why Dib liked her so much. Her eyes were thoughtful, her lips slightly parted, soft breaths traveled through her nose. He didn't realize that the features of the face, however ordinary alone, when combined together have beautiful effects. He was not one to judge beauty, or any other characteristic of a being for that matter.

Lina began to think that Zim was staring at her, and, being sly, she stared back at him.

"What are you staring at," scoffed Zim.

"I got the feeling we were playing some sort of game, so I wanted to join in."

"I wasn't playing a game!"

"Well, just what were you doing then?" She held a smirk on her face. "You were studying me, weren't you?"

"No! I was simply… I was just…" He didn't know what to cover up with.

"No, Zim. I know what you were doing. And I think you should stop before I kick you out in the rain again."

If he told her what he was really doing, she would see that he wasn't interested, and therefore ignore him altogether. So he let the matter go.

"How far is your house?" He tried making conversation.

"About another mile or so. Why should you care?" She replied flippantly.

"Hey, I was just TRYING to be nice." Zim started to walk away but he figured that she would call after him, so he didn't worry about the umbrella.

She didn't call after him. He turned to look at her and then tried to get back under the umbrella but Lina wouldn't let him.

"Oh come on! I'm sorry, okay! Maybe I want to be friends with you! Maybe I just don't know how!" His apology had flowed off his tongue fairly easily, so Lina was convinced.

"That's all I wanted to hear. And I guess I haven't really been fair to you. Here." She offered out the umbrella to him and he got under gratefully.

"So…we were talking about your house?" At this point he was trying to ease useful information out of her.

"Yeah. What about it?" Lina was getting worried. If she kept him talking too long he would soon be able to see her house, which was more of a castle than anything.

"Can I see it?"

"What? No! I don't want anyone at my house!" She quickened. So that's why he was being friendly! He just wanted to mooch off of her!

"Whoa! Slow down! I don't HAVE to see it. I just thought that friends show other friends their houses."

"Well, there can be exceptions to that rule," she paused, slowing down.

"You know, you're not making this very easy for me."

"I'm sorry. I just don't like showing people my house. They always treat me like an alien when they see it."

"Alien?"

"Yeah, you know, a foreigner?"

"Oh. Right."

Lina sighed. He was being awfully polite to her and there was no way he could already know her secret. She decided to take a chance.

"If I were to, say, give you a tour of my house, would you swear not to breathe a word of anything you see to anyone?"

"Well, duh!" Like he would tell anyone valuable mission information. Pfft.

"Umm…okay then. I'll give you a tour."

This was an opportunity Zim simply had to take! Already he was one step ahead of Dib and his inferior emotions. Now he would know all sorts of things: How large the house was, where it was, where things like security cameras were, duct openings. It would be much easier to break in if he had to.

Onward they strolled. Soon a giant, exquisite building loomed up ahead. It looked to be at least four stories tall, and the rich stone walls of the exterior were strewn with the deep green vines of ivy. Most of the windows that looked out from the sides were adorned with small balconies or large flower-boxes. Many great trees surrounded the area, leaving only enough room for the house and the garage. The falling rain only made everything greener and full of life. In the front lied a courtyard, which a large fountain in the middle; its gurgling water streamed over the tiered layers of white marble. The rest of the courtyard was lined with perfectly leveled hedges and greenery.

They approached the front gate. The black mass stood firmly between two very high sections of brick wall. Its wrought iron was bent into very intricate designs, and the large hinges bore small amounts of rust. Zim noticed a camera in the corner and stared blankly into it.

"That might pose a problem later," he thought to himself. Lina pressed a small button on an intercom and was greeted by a voice.

"Good day, Miss! How was school?" said the voice. It was a woman's voice, soft but shrill.

"The usual, Clarice."

"Welcome home, then!" The gates slid open with a long, resounding squeal.

The two walked through the opening. Zim's eyes widened now that he could see the house full on.

"It is very big. And… big." He could not find any other word to describe it, as beautiful was not in his vocabulary.

"Thanks." As they approached the front door, a plump woman in a starched maid's uniform opened it. By the sound of her voice, Zim could tell that this must be Clarice.

"Begging your pardon Miss, but your father would not like any visitors today. He has his golfing friends over to tea."

"Well, Zim, you heard her. You can just keep the umbrella. I'll see you tomorrow at school, okay?" Zim was still a little wide-eyed.

"Yeah, okay. See you." He turned and Lina stood in the doorway, watching him walk to the gate, watching the gate loudly shut behind him, watching him vanish. She was relieved that she hadn't needed to show him any more of her house. He had already looked overwhelmed by the size.

"Miss?" inquired Clarice.

Still she watched. For a small moment she almost wished she could see those eyes of his staring at her again; those sparkling deep eyes…

"Miss?" repeated Clarice.

… Those eyes that were partially hidden by his unique bangs, black, and razor sharp looking. She mused what had changed so suddenly with him. One day, he seemed to loathe her, the next, he wanted to be her friend, even before he knew about her money. Why?

"Miss, what are you doing? Please, come inside. The rain is falling more heavily now."

"I was just… thinking." Finally Lina turned and stepped into the house.


	5. Plannings

Plannings

About the same time that Lina's car broke down, Dib was sitting in one of his father's labs, being examined by one of the scientists, who also served as the family optometrist. The scientist was one from Russia, but he enjoyed making his accent even more accentuated than normal.

"So, it's contacts that you wish for?" He rolled his "r"s excessively, and looked at Dib with his wispy hair flying everywhere.

"Yes, sir." Dib was very uncomfortable changing his appearance so drastically. He had worn those overly sized spectacles for longer than he could comprehend. But it was necessary if he wanted to win Lina. As soon as her name swept through his mind, his facial expression softened and a tiny smile played out on his face.

"So, you have a gerl!" Apparently the good doctor was also a mind reader as well.

"I don't have a…what I mean to say is that-she's not a—"The sudden appearance of his father made him stop his speech abruptly.

"Is this true, son? Do you have a special someone?" He spoke with such command and power that Dib was afraid to answer.

"She is someone, but she's not special. What I mean is that—"Again he was cut short by his father's booming voice. Membrane grabbed him fiercely by the shoulders and stood him up.

"I waited so long for the day you would find a someone! I am so proud of you, son! What's her name? Where does she come from? Does she like science?!"

"Her name is Lina, I don't know where she comes from, and I have no idea if she likes science or not."

"Lina is a good, strong name. It reminds me of Lithium. Do you remember what the atomic number of Lithium is?" For some odd reason, Membrane made both of his children memorize all the elements in the periodic table, and he never let them forget it.

"The atomic number of Lithium is three," he recited.

"Very good son!" he turned to the scientist. "Schedule an appointment in ten minutes for my son to have Lasik eye surgery. I won't have his eyes treated with anything less than the best. Contacts are too itchy anyway." The strange little Russian man scampered out of the room.

"Dad, I really don't want to go through surgery just for this…"

"Nonsense! You love her, don't you?"

"I just met her yesterday! I don't know if I love her or not…and I know she doesn't love me back…"

"No matter. You're still going to have the surgery. Don't argue with me." He plunked Dib back down in his seat. "Now, about Lina. What is it that sets her apart from all the rest?"

"I really don't know. There's just something about her that's just…wonderful…"

"Well, I'm glad you like her for the right reasons. Otherwise I would have had to give you 'The Talk' "Membrane hadn't even told Dib the facts of life yet. He supposed that 

Dib would probably never find that special person, so he figured Dib would never need to know. But now that there was a chance for his only son to find happiness, he was reconsidering his actions.

"'The Talk', Dad?" To Membrane's relief, the scientist scurried back into the lab.

"Excuse me, Prof. Membrane, but they need to perform the surgery right now."

"Alright, son. I'll give you 'The Talk' when I think you're ready for it. Even if this surgery wasn't just for Lina, you still need it." The scientist grabbed Dib by the arm and dragged him out of the lab. The operating table stood like a cold block of ice; it was ready to stretch out its shackles and take Dib into its horrible grasp.

Thinking once again of Lina, he allowed himself to be strapped to the table. Mind, shackles aren't needed for Lasik surgery, or any other surgery for that matter, but the scientists at Membrane Labs thought it added to the effect. Needless to say, it was convincing enough…

Zim was first to enter the classroom the next morning. He wasn't usually early, but he was always there. It was his time to be observant before any persons got in his way. Miss. Bitters wasn't even there that early.

Zim didn't really sleep at all; he just recharged his PAK every morning, and went on with his business. No one knew much about PAKS, but the running theory was that if an Irken went ten minutes without wearing their PAK, they would perish. Apparently, a PAK was a brain to one of the Irken race, or at least the nervous system.

Eventually, the staff and students would seep into the hallways and classrooms; chatting off to the side, feuding over the water fountain. For a few more brief, quiet moments Zim would have the room to himself until his class would come streaming in steadily.

Today, Lina was the second person to enter the room, followed by Dib close behind, and then the rest of the class at the rear. Lina sat in her seat and organized her things. Dib sat in silence, waiting for her to notice his new eyes. Zim fiddled with his pencil.

Miss. Bitters skulked into the room in the way she always did. Just after the last bell rang, one student, whose name happened to be Kody, strolled into the classroom.

"Care to explain why you're late?" The class's attention was drawn to the front.

"Being on time is for losers." Ignoring any response from the teacher, he advanced towards his desk in the back on the room, but stopped suddenly at Lina's desk. Kody stared down at her.

"Where did you come from, baby?" He winked at her with a smile that would make most nauseous.

"Do I look like a baby to you?" She knew what he was doing. And she didn't like it.

"Now, baby, why d'you gotta be that way?"

"Get away from me you snake!" She said it in a way that could be compared with the act of spitting in one's face.

"Fine, baby! But you'll come to me one day. And then you'll be mine." He strutted back to his seat and plunked into it, slouching. Dib looked back and glared at him with fiery eyes.

"What are you looking at, freak?" he spat in Dib's direction.

Although entertained by the events that had just taken place, Miss. Bitters called her class to order.

"The student counsel, now headed by Lina here, has decided to give this class the opportunity to plan this year's prom festivities. You will each contribute an idea or donation to make the prom as bearable as possible. Find a partner to work with now!" The class went into slight chaos. Students tripped over each other to get the partner they wanted. Dib scrambled to reach Lina, but Zim intercepted him before he got to her. Zim grabbed her arm and started to pull her to an empty table, but she broke away.

"No, Zim. I want to be with Dib today." She walked away from him and he averted his eyes. He certainly had to go through enough humiliation during this mission…

"You really want to be my partner?" Dib was hopeful. Maybe his new eyes were paying off.

"I had a pleasant conversation with Zim yesterday, and I want to get to know you better." Dib flushed at hearing this. "So, any ideas for the prom?"

"Well, I skipped out on the Junior Prom, so I wouldn't really know what one is supposed to be like. But from the movies I've seen, it's not very exciting."

"I haven't either, but I'm sure they're not THAT bad."

Miss. Bitters passed out a packet of papers to each pair and stopped to make sure everyone was listening.

"This is a prom liability form. Make sure that both of you sign it. This will ensure that the school, and especially me, isn't responsible for any fires or accidents that any of you cause." She turned back to her desk and skulked some more.

"Does she take us for idiots? 'Setting fires'? I always expected seniors to be more mature than that," pondered Lina aloud.

"Don't worry about it. I think the contract is just a device to make you think that you have to be more careful."

"Oh," she looked down at the liability packet. "On the next page it has assignments for each pair to come up with."

"What are ours?" Dib leaned closer to see the packet.

"We have 'Prom location', 'catering', and 'service'. They must really want this to be fancy!"

"Miss. Bitters," Dib raised his hand, "What is each pair's budget?"

"What budget? It's not the school's responsibility to pay for it!"

"How are we supposed to make the money then," Lina asked.

"One of the pairs is coming up with fundraising ideas. The rest will have to be donated by you or your parents."

"Who's coming up with the money ideas?" Lina turned back to look at the class, and found Zim's partner, Gretchen, raising her hand timidly. Lina turned back to Dib and sat down.

"It appears as though we're screwed. We have the most important things on the list, but no one can come up with enough money for it!" Dib looked for a loophole in the packet directions.

Lina thought for a moment. Her back courtyard was more than adequate enough to hold prom, and the catering would be easy enough to provide. But she couldn't offer up her property like that. Then every single person in the class would know about her secret lifestyle.

Then again, if they did use her property, the students wouldn't KNOW it was hers. They didn't have a big sign in front of the gate that said "The Battement Mansion", so no one would find out. Unless, of course, Zim decided to tell them all…

"I've looked through this thing front and back and there are no loopholes what so ever. It looks like we're going to have to beg for money," complained Dib. Lina pulled his ear to her mouth and whispered into it.

"I know where we can get the money, but I can't tell you here. Meet me at my car after school. It's in parking space L7." Her breaths tickled Dib's ear and he shivered. His heart wanted him to pull closer to her, but his mind rationalized no.

"Okay," he murmured, staring down at their packet.

The bell had rung a few minutes later, and Lina had allowed Dib to brainstorm ideas. They wouldn't matter after she told him anyways.

Zim kept up with them as they walked through the parking lot, hiding behind cars and slinking beside tires.

"Lina, just tell me, okay? It's not like we're getting money by selling drugs or something, right?" Lina had to laugh at that.

"You thought that I was a drug dealer? Just how crazy are you, Dib?!"

"I'm…not crazy, Lina." He looked away from her and out into the cars.

"I'm sorry, it was a joke! I don't really think you're crazy." She took his arm and smiled at him. Dib blushed.

"So, which car is yours again?"

"This one, right here. I like to call him Gregory." The Bugatti suddenly came into Dib's view and he almost gasped. The sun reflected off the gleaming car and scattered across any part that wasn't shadowed by another. He did notice that the paint job was almost exactly like his bike's, only in a larger scale.

"She's amazing! Bugatti Veyron, right? One of those French cars?" He was ecstatic. Lina looked around and saw a shadow move among the cars.

"Quick! Get in the front seat," she hurriedly opened the door for him to get in, which he did. She ran around to the driver's seat and got in as well.

"What was that for? There wasn't anyone in the parking lot," Dib inquired while marveling over the interior of the car.

"Why don't we take a drive?" Lina revved the engine and before Dib knew what was going on, they were cruising down a back road behind the school.

"Where are we going? Can you tell me what's going on please? I don't enjoy being left in the dark."

All of a sudden she swerved into a small, shaded parking area that was completely empty except for the two of them.

"I didn't want anyone to overhear, and I didn't want anyone to see me with this car."

"Okay, now could you be a little more specific," he looked straight at her, while she looked straight ahead.

"I didn't want to tell you this earlier, because I didn't think that I could trust you to like me for me afterwards. But I think I see now that you already like me as I am, so I think I should probably tell you."

"Wait, is it really that obvious? That I like you, I mean?"

"I'm not going to assume what your emotional attachment is to me, but I do consider you one of my only friends in this city." Lina smiled at him and he looked out the window. She looked back out the windshield.

"Anyway, do you see that big house over there? Behind that clump of trees?"

"You mean that castle? Yeah, that's been here for a few years. It's something, huh?"

"Umm…I live there." She looked at him to see his reaction.

"I guess, that would explain the million dollar car," he concluded, looking at her.

"Well, you took that surprisingly well…"

"So, you're rich, huh? What now? That doesn't exactly solve our prom problem," mumbled Dib, playing with the windshield button.

"Come on, it's not that hard. We'll have prom at my house. Our maids and butlers can take care of the food service too." Lina slapped his hand away from the stereo knob.

"But I thought you wanted to keep this whole thing a secret from everyone?"

"I do. But no one ever has to know about our little secret. It's not like my name is emblazoned on the walls or anything." She turned on the engine again and backed out of the parking lot.

"Where're we going now," Dib said, gazing out the window.

"I want to show you what I'm talking about. In my backyard there's a pool area for sophisticated occasions like prom."

She turned the car onto a one lane road hidden by the trees and they drove on for a minute until they came to a smooth gravel driveway that seemed to lead straight towards the house.

"It's huge," he said, staring up at the mansion.

"It IS four stories tall."

Gregory was slowed and parked by the side of a long and thin pool. Lina unlocked the doors and they both stepped out of the car.

She led him to the far side of the pool, which was padded by concrete and enclosed by tall hedges on two sides.

"I think this area would be big enough, plus the deck up there," she pointed up to the house, where a large stone staircase led up to the floor level of the house, "There're tables and a bar up there; not that we'll serve alcohol, but drinks and punch."

"This will work, but we need to make sure that you're not at your house when everyone comes. And you can't drive up in your car, either." He turned to look at her.

"I could come with you and your friends, as a group." Dib laughed at her.

"Sure, just as soon as you let me know who those friends are!"

"Sorry, just a suggestion," she paused and glanced back at her house, "You know, Dib, you don't have a prom date," she hinted, grinning.

"Are you sure you want to go with me? That won't get you very much respect around here," he mumbled, blushing.

"Why should I care about something like that? I like you well enough. Besides, what's prom without someone to share it with?"

"Seriously? You're not joking around," he gushed, grabbing her by the shoulders.

"I'm not joking! Do you really think I'm that shallow?"

"No, but I--," he was cut off by a voice from the back doors.

"Miss? We weren't expecting visitors. Should I set an extra place at the table?" It was Clarisse again.

"That's okay, Lina, I need to get home anyway." He loosened his grip on her shoulders"

"No, Clarisse, I'll take him home now."

Dib had told Lina his bike's parking space at the school and they arrived not long after they had left. He was about to get out of the car when he turned back to look at her.

"Hey, thanks for sharing your secret. No one's ever felt comfortable enough around me to do something like that.

"Really, it's no problem. You're a cool guy, Dib. People should realize that more."

He blushed again, stepped out of Gregory, and began his journey up the front walk.

Lina rolled down his window and called out to him.

"By the way, Dib, I like your new eyes!" He turned to thank her but she was already gone.

"I just don't get that girl sometimes," he thought to himself.


	6. On The Town

On the Town

The weekend passed to slowly for Dib. He wanted to talk to Lina again, hang out with her maybe, but she hadn't given him a phone number and he wasn't going to try to ring her doorbell in case someone saw him there. No one told him many secrets, so the ones he was allowed to keep, he kept with sincerity.

Zim didn't really care whether or not he saw her over the weekend. He had plans to make anyhow and didn't want any distractions. The Tallest were expecting a full lab report and interview for Probing Day.

Lina had sat in solitude for most of the weekend, sketching or blogging on her website. She used a code name when she was online, but she still liked talking to people around the world.

Miss. Bitters was bored since finals were over and the prom plans had been finalized, so she allowed her students to talk freely with each other until school was over. Dib chose this time to chat with Lina, while Zim watched in disgust.

"So, how are you?" Dib mumbled, fiddling with his thumbs.

"Okay, I guess. I'm a little bored, though."

"Why? There must be a ton of stuff to do," Dib cleared his throat, "Where you live."

"Not really. I don't have any chores since it's all taken care of, and I don't have to make public appearances anymore." They were both being careful to choose their words carefully.

"I was wondering if maybe I could give you that tour of the town today."

"That'd be great! Oh, but I promised my brother I would drive him home," she said, just as the bell rung. They both turned away to gather their stuff.

"I don't mind if he comes along. He lives here too…"

The classroom was soon emptied and all went to their lockers. The students would eventually journey to their destinations somehow or another.

Dib usually rode his motor cycle home. The bike was a gift from his father, and a few of the men in the laboratory. They had noticed that he had never had a female friend, and so, for his fifteenth birthday, they had surprised him with a gorgeous Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14 model. He loved his bike but it did not get him the attention he sought after with it. It did, however, make some of the male students quite jealous.

Lina and Dib walked out of the building together, with Zim skulking a few feet behind them.

"Do we need to go pick up your brother? Or does he go to school here," asked Dib of Lina.

"Unless he's got a ride from someone else, we'll have to pick him up at the middle school," she answered, putting her bag back on her shoulder; it had slid off as bags are wont to do.

"My sister Gaz is in middle school. Maybe they've met already?"

"That could be. But then, of course, Zak meets a lot of girls. He's somewhat of a ladies' man."

"Oh?"

"He attracts all kinds of girls, and then he's too scared to get involved with any of them!" She gave a small laugh.

"My sister Gaz is no lady! She bullies guys instead of flirting with them…"

"Perhaps the bullying is her way of flirting?"

"I don't know about that…she bullies me, too." Zim almost laughed, but then remembered how horrible Gaz was to him too. Many a black eye had been given to him by that wretched human...

They reached the parking lot, and Zim went his own way without saying a word. Dib motioned in the directing of his bike.

"We'll have to figure something out, because my bike only seats two, and even then it can be uncomfortable."

"I would suggest we take my car that you love so much, but it only seats two as well, or so you may have noticed," she paused for a moment to think, "Is his school very far from where you wanted to take us?"

"It's actually in the middle of the downtown area, so maybe we could just walk from the school, and then I could get you a taxi," he thought out loud.

"Is that your bike over there?" She pointed at a black and blue bike glistening in the afternoon sun.

"Yeah, she's a beauty! I feel bad though, because I didn't have to work to get her that way, like most guys do…What the--?!"

"What's wrong?"

"Some freak keyed my bike! Look at it!" They both bent down to look at it. Someone had taken a sharp key and drug it along the body of the bike, revealing the shining metal alloy underneath.

"Dib, I'm sorry. Maybe we can take it to a body shop while we're walking around?"

"Yeah, we'll drop it off after we find your brother. What's his name again?"

"Zak." Dib handed her a sleek black helmet and she slid it on. Dib wore one as well.

He helped Lina onto the back and then swung on himself. Turning the key and finding that the vandal hadn't tampered with the mechanics, he revved the engine and they flew out of the parking lot. Thankfully there wasn't much traffic that day because Dib had turned his show-off meter a full 5 notches higher than normal.

"Aren't you going a little fast, Dib?!" Lina shouted over the roar of the blur of buildings and passersby. He immediately tried to slow down, but was forced to swerve hard 

after a neon green Honda bike cut close to hitting them. Thinking on his feet, he steered over into a nearby parking lot. The rider of the green bike rolled over to them.

"What the hell were you thinking?! Someone could've gotten hurt!" Dib climbed off the bike and walked toward the rider. Lina was surprised by him using language like that, but she swung off after him, removing her helmet.

"Maybe if you cared so much about safety you wouldn't be such a freak!" Even before he removed his helmet, Lina and Dib could tell that the rider Kody.

"Well at least I'm not a shallow bastard!"

"Dib, that's enough! Both of you! That's enough!"

"What Dib, you gonna take orders from your Mary-Sue girlfriend? So now, you're a wimp and a freak!"

"I'm not his girlfriend," she shouted back at him.

"So, if you're not going out with the freak, why don't you and I get our freak on later tonight?" This was too much. Something inside of Lina snapped. She dashed over to Kody, coming within inches of his face.

"Oh, I can get pretty freaky. Are you sure you can handle it?"

"I knew you would come to me, baby." His smile was sickening as he grabbed her around the waist and tried to pull her mouth to his.

"Oh yeah." She stretched out the last word farther than it should've been. Whipping out a pocket knife she stabbed it into the side of his bike, slowly dragging a gash into the side as she said it. The screech of metal on metal drowned out her voice, making Dib cringe. He had been staring in disbelief, hoping that her words to Kody weren't true. They weren't.

"You freaking bitch!" As soon as he saw the glint of the knife he pushed her away from him, not wanting to get cut.

"I told you that you couldn't handle it." She unstuck the knife and found a new target in his back tire. "And that's for yesterday." Air squealed out of the tire and left Kody in shock. No one, especially not a girl had ever treated him this way.

Without saying a word, Lina turned and strolled back to Dib, returning her knife to its pocket. She got on the bike and Dib, speechless, followed her lead. She put her arms around his waist, but not too low, and leaned her head near his shoulder.

"Drive." She breathed. Dib could feel her hands shaking.


	7. Discoveries

Discoveries

Without another thought Dib jolted out of the lot, leaving Kody and his long chains of profanity behind them. Lina clung to him tightly, and if this was any other moment in time, Dib would have relished her being so familiar with him. His neck suddenly felt damp, and he thought he could sense the faint sounds of stifled sobs through the roar of city traffic.

They passed what seemed to be millions of skyscrapers, until they had reached the residential area of city limits. There Dib forced himself to slow the bike, for police were more alert in the area.

She seemed to be in hysterics at this point. Every tear dropped like rain onto his black trench coat, running down the sides of the vehicle and becoming concrete angels on the pavement.

"Hang on, Lina. We're almost to Zak's school." He wanted to comfort her through this time to confusion.

Dib was right though. The middle school appeared in view within a couple minutes of him saying so. He eased the bike into a parking space on the curb next to the adjoining park.

Knowing that Lina was in an emotional state, he steadied her as he swung off the bike and half lifted her onto the grass. The very moment her feet were on solid ground, she collapsed in a heap at his feet with her face in her hands and almost dragged him down with her. He gave in to Lina's weight and kneeled beside her, holding her shaking form in his arms.

Dib wanted to say something to her, but her loud sobbing was startling so he kept quiet.

When her crying had subsided some, Dib took the initiative to reposition her in his lap—his legs were cramping. He was afraid to ask her to explain her feelings to him in case she broke down again.

"Lina," Dib breathed, not knowing how to handle the whole situation.

She lifted her head, took one look at him, and burst out in peals of laughter. In her joy she wrapped her arms around him and they both fell backwards in the freshly cut grass. By this time, Dib was laughing too; mostly because he felt stupid for thinking she was crying her eyes out, but also because of her contagious joy.

"Oh, Dib I'm so sorry for what I've done. How I must have made you feel…" said Lina, sitting up and helping Dib up too.

"You don't have to apologize to me. I know you're not that kind of person." Dib looked behind him and saw a large tree, which he scooted over to and leaned against it. Lina came to sit next to him and they looked out on the world.

Cars passed by on the streets, going to and from unknown destinations. Behind them young children played with each other on the playground, their mothers and guardians chatting at a safe distance. One or two teachers filtered out of the school doors, shuffling papers and hurrying to their cars. Everything around Dib and Lina seemed 

oblivious to the world around them; disconnected and uncaring about anyone but themselves. Looking again toward the school, they saw a student running towards them.

"Zak," Lina mumbled.

"What have you done to my sister? Who are you!? What are you doing!?" At this, Dib helped Lina to her feet and watched Zak jog across the lawn.

Zak was only slightly less tall than Lina and was smartly dressed in a white and black school uniform coat, which was perfectly pressed, and a pair of white pants that cuffed just below the knee. His straight auburn hair hung about his face, partially covering his bright eyes.

"I asked you a question, sir!" Zak repeated.

"Calm down! We were driving here to pick you up and we were ambushed by a jock from school. So we escaped and drove here. I swear that's all that happened!" Dib felt like he was explaining himself to her father.

"Lina, is he lying? Because if he's not—"

"He's telling the truth, Zak. I slashed his tire and dug a gash in his bike." She had completely centered herself and her face remained expressionless.

"_You did what?!" _ Zak stared at them in disbelief.

"It wasn't her fault. Kody verbally assaulted her."

"It's true. I overreacted. But at the time I thought it was only fair! He's probably the one who keyed Dib's bike anyway. So he committed a double offence."

"So she punished him accordingly." Dib and Lina went back and forth, each defending the other.

"That may very well be, but it still doesn't answer my question of who you are!" Zak poked Dib in the chest and got up in his face.

"You need to calm down, Zak. This is Dib and he's a friend from school. He was going to give us a tour of the city and we were on our way here when we ran into Kody."

"Oh."

"And what's more, you have no right to be rude to me when all I did was bring your sister to you in one piece!" He shoved Zak out of his face.

"I'm sorry Dib. I guess I underestimated you. I suppose foul language will do that to a person…" Zak brushed himself off as though someone had splattered him with mud and offered a hand to Dib.

Dib didn't really feel very flattered by being forgiven by someone 2 years his junior. In fact, having interaction with anyone younger than him other than his sister was of little consequence to him.

"I accept your apology," said Dib through a fake smile, shaking Zak's hand.

"I'm just going to pretend that you meant it, okay?" Zak glared at him. Dib returned the favor.

"Okay! Why don't we get that tour started now, Dib." Lina noticed the mental feud unfolding between her brother and friend.

Although Zak was none too happy about having to walk, he was glad to get the tour. In his head he mapped out direct routes from his school to his favorite places to be: the public library, the café, and the stationary store.

Lina's brother, more than anything else in the world, wanted to be known as one of the greatest writers in the 21st century. But he had a severe case of writer's block. There was no adventure, nothing exciting for him to make a case of; there was no excitement or anything romantic enough to describe in great detail. So he indulged in creating poetry which was often impromptu and covered topics from nature to politics. His parents encouraged his creative talent and urged him to publish a book of his poems, but their reply was a complex metaphor involving reasons why he didn't want to be discovered until he wrote something amazing.

"…And that's the finest four star restaurant in the whole downtown area," announced Dib as they passed a tall building with art deco inspired architecture. A banner hung from an upper window read 'La baie de lune'.

"The Moon Bay," stated Lina. "We should get Mum and Da to take us there sometime."

"The atmosphere is really modern, but it was foreign and I couldn't read the menu so I ended up with escargot," Dib explained nonchalantly.

"Snails? Did they at least give you butter?" Zak was done mapping his routes.

"No." Dib was still annoyed with Zak. He didn't seem to be paying any attention and was mumbling to himself about different things.

"Thanks a lot for the tour Dib, but I think Zak still has homework to do before the end of the year." Lina raised her arm to hail a taxi.

"It's no problem. Can I pay for the cab?"

"Nonsense! You need that money more than we do," snubbed Zak.

"So he's witty and a prick! That's just wonderful," Dib thought darkly.

Moments later a driver pulled up and Lina told him the address. Zak slid in the backseat. Before Lina could follow him, Dib grabbed her arm.

"I swear to you right now that Kody's never going to hurt you. Not as long as I'm around." His eyes were dead serious and locked with hers.

"Don't swear, Dib." And before he let go she stretched and kissed him gently on the cheek. Then she slipped out of his grip and slid into the seat next to Zak.

"Lina, wait!" Dib tried to say something before they drove away, but Zak reached across her lap and slammed the car door in his face.

"What was that about?" said her brother after they had driven away.

As Dib strolled down the streets and alleyways to his bike, he couldn't stop playing her small kiss over and over again in his mind.

He'd never felt so euphoric before. Never in his conscious life had a female ever kissed him. He couldn't really remember his mother; she had died during Gaz' birth. As he 

thought about this he realized that he had just received his first real kiss from Lina. Sweet, beautiful Lina…

In his reverie Dib failed to notice the shadowy figure trailing him. The figure carefully made sure to keep in the edging darkness, advancing with every step until he was close enough to reach out and touch him.

Once the prey and stalker had reached almost complete darkness in a narrow alley, the shadow pounced.

Dib felt himself being knocked to the ground, his arms twisted behind him, held by an unknown force.

"You like that freak? You like getting punished?!"

"Kody! If you ever come near her again I will kill you! You hear me? I will kill you," Dib screamed in pain and rage.

"No, you listen to me, punk! If you get in my way of getting her I won't just kill you, I'll kill her after I screw her!" Still holding Dib's arms behind him Kody kicked him again and again until Dib felt like he was going to break in half.

Suddenly the assaults stopped. There was a sound of a blunt object hitting bone and Dib's arms were released.

The last thing Dib could remember before passing out was a flash of green, red and black. A floodlight in the alley reflected off of a shadowy face staring down at him with crimson eyes.


	8. Siblings

Siblings

Slap.

Slap.

Slap.

Dib awakened to a hand smacking his face repeatedly. His head was throbbing, his limbs were numb, and his middle felt like it had been run over with a car.

Slap.

Slap.

Slap.

"DIB! WAKE UP NOW!" He moaned, trying to open his eyes. He almost succeeded, but was slapped again.

"FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE STOP SMACKING ME!!" He managed to express his feelings to the assailant, but the yelling made his head throb even more.

"Well, get up then!" The smacking stopped. "I've been looking for you all night, loser! You could have at least called to say that you were going to disappear today!"

"Gaz? Is that you?" Dib's pounding head was affecting his hearing.

"No, Dib. I'm Santa Claus. Ho, ho, ho. Now get up and I'll give you a present." Along with physically abusing people, Gaz' second favorite thing was sarcasm.

Without objection, he allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, but found that he couldn't support his own weight. Not wanting to be dragged to the ground, Gaz let go of him and he landed with a thump.

"Ohhh…" he groaned. He felt like he was going to snap in half.

"Dib, come on! We need to get home to Dad!"

"You know I can't drive right now." With some effort he was able to refocus his eyes. He was a few feet away from his bike, leaned against a tree. Gaz' Vespa scooter was parked in front of the bike.

"Yeah, you can. Now get up."

"Can't you see I'm in pain?!"

"Dib, you're not even bleeding. But you're going to be in real pain if you don't get up in the next five seconds." She glared at him. Slowly raising himself to his knees, he was able to get to his feet from there.

"What happened after I passed out? Why did Zim help me? Was that even Zim?"

"Dib, I don't know what you're muttering about, but it's one in the morning, AND I NEED SLEEP NOW!" Gaz shoved Dib to get his reflexes working again. Leaning on Gaz for support even though she pinched him the whole time, they slowly made their way to the vehicles.

"Get on your bike, Dib." She threw his arm from around her shoulder.

"How did you know where I was?" He wasn't going to give up until his curiosities were quelled.

"This chick from your school called to make sure you were 'safe' because apparently you two rode from school together and you got her a taxi downtown." There was question in her tone.

"I was giving her and her brother a tour of the city."

"I don't really care! LET'S GO!"

Somehow Dib managed to get on his bike and sit steadily on it.

The journey home took longer than Dib expected and Gaz would have liked. He couldn't find the drive to go any faster than five miles under the speed limit, and Gaz was none too happy.

Most of their conversation on the way home was as follows:

"Did Lina get home safely? Did you see Zim anywhere?"

"CAN'T YOU GO ANY FASTER?! SHUT UP!"

It was a long ride home.


	9. Clarity

Clarity

The door swung open and a shadow flew into the room, breathless from moving swiftly.

"Where did you go, master?" said a voice in the darkness. The only visible light was the voice's round blue eyes glowing brightly.

"Out," was all the shadow said before commanding his computer to turn on the lights.

"Oo! Why couldn't I come too? You didn't come home after school!"

"Be quiet, Gir. I don't have time for your pointless trivial questions." Zim skulked to his computer and told it to bring up his mission statistics. Gir shrunk back into the darkness to play with his pig.

"What is this love thing I have so ignorantly underestimated? Why does it matter so much to the humans?"

Gir flew forward from the darkness.

"What you talking 'bout, master?" He was sucking on a doughnut.

Zim did not answer him. He was too busy mulling over in his head the events which had so blatantly startled him.

He had been there; watching them, stalking them, observing their every movement, every comment. Over time, shadows had become his home on earth. They were his subways, his pathways, his sidewalks. He moved about unnoticed and quite alone, except for days when Gir decided to follow him; on those days, chaos was likely to ensue.

He had been there when, while eyeing them, they discovered the keyed bike.

He had been there when they swerved into the parking lot.

He had heard them upset and yelling at that horrible snake-human.

He had been there when she flew into a crazed rage, stabbing his tire and slashing his bike.

He had been there when she collapsed in perplexity.

He had been there to see the face-kiss.

He was there when the snake destroyed Dib's composure and bliss.

He had been there the whole time; every moment, every second, every emotion he had seen scared him to death.

It was not as easy as he had estimated it to be. He had seen a different side of Lina he never thought possible. Before she had been nothing but an obstacle for him. He would leap over her and destroy her before she knew what had come. He would crush her very existence and bring the world to its knees when he did so. He would have the planet right under his fingers, and once his Tallest noticed his accomplishments they would conquer planet earth side by side by side. He had even gone so far as to imagine he ruled the universe instead of the Tallest, but his Pak told him it was blasphemy and impossible.

But now.

His world was falling in around him. The world he had fought so hard to keep in secret and silent from everyone around him was being exposed. All this, because of the human girl who was called Lina.

Zim's wild anticipations were crushing his spirits now, for she had shown him that he would actually have to plan and plot and work for his prize.

He was angry. While these thoughts flew in and out and in and out of his head he struggled to keep them organized and keep his blank composure. He had to control himself; keep his thoughts controlled. There was no clarity, no cleanliness to his mind.

This happened to him more and more frequently. He noticed it began soon after he had consumed that Substance. His conscious was changing. He was more alert now, more observant to the world around him; every sound, smell, flash, touch, and breeze he could feel like it was cutting him with a blade. Zim soon became afraid of the world. The world itself was a bottomless pit of confusion and noise drowning out noise.

He had discovered a way to get rid of the noise, get rid of the confusion. It gave him clarity so clear that it was painful.

Opening a compartment in his desk, he sighed. He did not like his method of becoming clear; it was messy.

Inside the drawer was a small razor blade with a handle. He braced his arm for impact and drew a small black line in his arm with the razor. His blood was black as coal as it traveled silently down his arm and hand. A drop fell onto the floor and Zim had now become so clear in thought that he heard it land. Such a sound would not have been audible to the human ear, but of course, Zim was no human.

Gir was whimpering softly in his dark corner, holding his pig tightly. He hated when Zim became clear. Zim was kinder to him when he was uncluttered, but he hated seeing his master's self-wrought pain and confusion.

Cutting seemed to be the only way Zim could clear his thoughts. Zim hated having to do it. It seemed like such a shameful way to focus his emotions. An Irken invader should be able keep his composure and focus on priorities, but Zim had never been given proper invader training. In his earlier years on earth he had been so confident, so sure of himself and his little achievements. Now he was maturing like any other Earthen adolescent: insecure and confused about life's purposes.

With a painful sigh he pressed his arm with a cloth, feeling the frustration and agony being absorbed like his blood. The task was done.

The many layers of his mind settled and he thought over with focus the day's information.

"Computer! Record this data as I give it to you in my log."

"Yes, sir." A beep was heard and a screen dropped down in front of the alien.

"The female subject Lina has a dangerous side. Be watchful of that," He dictated.

Gir had since come out from his corner to watch and listen to Zim.

"Look at him go, Pig!" Not knowing any better, Gir was proud of his keeper and often made sure his acquaintances knew it.

"Secondly, the Kody-snake will have to be stopped somehow. I don't mind so much him being a threat to the Dib-beast, but when I get closer to Lina he will become a great threat to me as well."

"If I may impose, sir?" Zim had recently installed polite speech software into his computer and when it wanted to make a comment or suggestion, it spoke with a tone much like Henry's.

"What is it, computer? I don't have a lot of time to waste." Zim, on the other hand, was not inclined to be polite at all.

"I was just thinking, sir. If Kody is taken care of, who will you have take care of Dib for you? Won't you have to get rid of him yourself?"

"Dib is a small threat compared to that of Kody. He has the whole school on his side, and Dib has possibly only Lina." He didn't want to admit that the computer was right, but the comment had set him thinking. What would happen if the fight was between Dib and himself again? Zim supposed it would be an easier victory since he knew Dib's weaknesses. But then again, Dib had vowed to Kody that if Lina was in jeopardy he would kill him. But then again, Zim didn't think Dib had the strength to carry out such a pledge.

Zim decided to let these possibilities slip by him. He had shed enough blood for the day.

"Lastly, do research on Lina's family. Find records on her brother. I want to know more about him. In the end, my victory or defeat could come down to him. Tap in to the Battement's security system when you get the chance. You know why I want that going for me…"

"Ima make waffles, 'kay?" The little robot could tell his master was done logging for the moment.

Zim sighed and went upstairs with Gir.


	10. Brain Waves

Brain Waves

The next morning was a Wednesday, and Kody was completely out of it. He had awakened next to a dumpster, covered in old newspapers and a large rat that had settled to rest on his head.

"Where the hell am I," was his immediate reaction. He sat up, startled, and cringed as the mouse, also startled, bit his ear and scurried away.

He looked around him, taking in the alley. He looked up and the morning sun dazzled his eyes.

"Well, what do we have here, two rats cozying up to each other? How nice," sung a voice. A shadow stepped up to Kody, blocking the sun from hitting his eyes.

"Zim? What're you doing here?" He tried to stand but found his head was throwing fits.

"I was just about to ask you the very same question," replied Zim, offering Kody a hand.

"No, really. Why are you here?" He swatted the hand away and used the wall as support to get up.

"Oh, no reason. Just out for a walk…" Zim smirked at him through menacing eyes.

"Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Shouldn't you?"

"School is for losers and freaks who haven't gotten laid yet," leered Kody.

"Then why do you go?"

"Some ladies like a guy who pays attention to education. But I give them first rate education, if you catch my—" His perverted speech was cut off abruptly by a fist hitting his face. He recoiled and attempted to bring his knuckles to Zim's face, but was met with a sharp shock to his chest. Kody immediately collapsed in pain.

"Shock and awe, Kody, shock and awe," sneered Zim, cuffing Kody's wrists and ankles together.

"Zim, you son of a—" Before he could say that last 'special' word, Zim shoved a gag into his mouth.

"No, no, Kody! You should save that for someone it applies to. I'm not the son of anything."

Before he knew what was happening, Kody was stuffed into the back of the Voot cruiser. He was wondering why in the world Zim was doing this to him, but moreover, he was astonished at the strength that the skinny green kid possessed.

Zim turned back once more to grin with evil pride at Kody, and then he revved the cruiser and they were off.

After a few moments, Gir turned around in his seat to look at Kody.

"Hi there, snakey boy! I'm gonna eat your memory!" He waved insanely and hopped behind Kody's crouched form and proceeded to jump up and down on top of him. Kody groaned with impatience.

"Gir! Get up here! There's no point in torturing the human," he paused, then smirked under his breath, "Yet…"

When they were within a block of Zim's house, Gir was ordered to blindfold Kody so he couldn't see where they were headed.

"We gots a surprise for you, Kody! Woo-hoo!" Gir screamed in his ear. Kody tried to head butt him but the little robot was too fast.

He hated feeling so powerless. He was mute, paralyzed, and now blind.

"How could I have been strong-armed so easily? I'm quarterback, after all!" Kody mulled angrily.

His mind began racing once he felt the cruiser land.

"What is this that I'm riding in? What're they going to do to me? Am I going to die? I don't want the loser I banged the other night to be the last one ever! This isn't how it's supposed to end!" He broke out into a cold sweat and used the upholstery to wipe the perspiration from his brow.

"Don't worry, snake. We'll take good care of you…"

After what Kody thought was five minutes, the cruiser slowed to almost a stop, then dropped downwards until it finally came to rest.

He started screaming through the gag as loud as he could, hoping someone would hear him cry out.

"Your cries are futile, human! No one can hear you down here," laughed Zim, removing the gag from Kody's mouth. He wanted to be able to hear his reaction when he found out what would happen to him.

"Zim! You low piece of dirt! You freaking loser asshole! Let me go!!" Kody spat in what he thought was Zim's face, but was actually Gir.

"He's like a fishy!"

Kody felt his body being hauled up in the air by something that felt like a giant claw. He was swung over to the right and his body touched something solid. His bare arms realized that he was laying on a cold metal table. He shivered and tried in vain to wiggle free from his bonds.

As soon as Zim saw him struggle, he pushed a button on a remote he held and metal restraints snapped up from underneath the table, completely paralyzing the captive.

"What do you want from me?! Just let me go!!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Kody-snake," Zim stepped to Kody's side and removed his blindfold, "You will be of much use to me and my plans…"

There stood Zim, in his full alien form; with crimson eyes, black antennae, and pale green skin that almost glowed in the dim light.

Kody shrieked and then there was only silence.


End file.
